About this Research Topic
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This first special issue focuses on Digital Soil Mapping (DSM). DSM is routinely used by soil scientists and soil institutions for creating Digital Soil Maps and populate Soil Information Systems. However, several challenges remain to improve the quality and usability of the products. We welcome papers that focus on improved usability through Knowledge Discovery of the soil system from DSM modelling assessments; Digital Soil Assessments for sustainable land management; Quality assessments of Digital Soil Maps through novel or improved quality assessment metrics, and/or more efficient assessment and communication of associated uncertainties.
A prevalent drawback of DSM models is their lack of interpretability when it comes to understanding the soil system. In addition to generating soil information, it is also important to develop a better fundamental understanding of the soil system. If the advance of knowledge about the soil system can be supported by our (spatial and temporal) modelling, it would allow for better decision making by policy makers. Additionally, the value of primary DSM products (mainly individual soil properties) can be much improved by engaging with stakeholders and end-users in Digital Soil Assessments (DSA) exercises. DSA allow deriving more actionable information to solve contemporary societal issues, such as the risk on soil compaction, drought sensitivity, salinity, soil health indicators, soil quality indices, etc. Finally, a clear assessment of the quality of the DSM and DSA products is necessary to improve and safeguard decision and policy making by stakeholders and end-users. Therefore, we encourage the development and co-development of suitable uncertainty and validation metrics.
This Research Topic on Digital Soil Mapping welcomes review and original research papers showing fundamental or applied advances on the proposed topics. The accepted papers will form a collective of papers that will better inform stakeholder and end users of the usability of Digital Soil Maps for decision and policy making.
This first special issue focuses on Digital Soil Mapping (DSM). DSM is routinely used by soil scientists and soil institutions for creating Digital Soil Maps and populate Soil Information Systems. However, several challenges remain to improve the quality and usability of the products. We welcome papers that focus on improved usability through Knowledge Discovery of the soil system from DSM modelling assessments; Digital Soil Assessments for sustainable land management; Quality assessments of Digital Soil Maps through novel or improved quality assessment metrics, and/or more efficient assessment and communication of associated uncertainties.
A prevalent drawback of DSM models is their lack of interpretability when it comes to understanding the soil system. In addition to generating soil information, it is also important to develop a better fundamental understanding of the soil system. If the advance of knowledge about the soil system can be supported by our (spatial and temporal) modelling, it would allow for better decision making by policy makers. Additionally, the value of primary DSM products (mainly individual soil properties) can be much improved by engaging with stakeholders and end-users in Digital Soil Assessments (DSA) exercises. DSA allow deriving more actionable information to solve contemporary societal issues, such as the risk on soil compaction, drought sensitivity, salinity, soil health indicators, soil quality indices, etc. Finally, a clear assessment of the quality of the DSM and DSA products is necessary to improve and safeguard decision and policy making by stakeholders and end-users. Therefore, we encourage the development and co-development of suitable uncertainty and validation metrics.
This Research Topic on Digital Soil Mapping welcomes review and original research papers showing fundamental or applied advances on the proposed topics. The accepted papers will form a collective of papers that will better inform stakeholder and end users of the usability of Digital Soil Maps for decision and policy making.
Keywords: soil, digital soil assessment, quality assessment, spatial modeling, knowledge discovery
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
